One striking observation in Parkinson's disease (PD) is the remarkable gender difference in incidence and prevalence of the disease. Data on gender differences with regard to disease onset, motor and ...non-motor symptoms, and dopaminergic medication are limited. Furthermore, whether estrogen status affects disease onset and progression of PD is controversially discussed. In this retrospective single center study, we extracted clinical data of 226 ambulatory PD patients and compared age of disease onset, disease stage, motor impairment, non-motor symptoms, and dopaminergic medication between genders. We applied a matched-pairs design to adjust for age and disease duration. To determine the effect of estrogen-related reproductive factors including number of children, age at menarche, and menopause on the age of onset, we applied a standardized questionnaire and performed a regression analysis. The male to female ratio in the present PD cohort was 1.9:1 (147 men vs. 79 women). Male patients showed increased motor impairment than female patients. The levodopa equivalent daily dose was increased by 18.9% in male patients compared to female patients. Matched-pairs analysis confirmed the increased dose of dopaminergic medication in male patients. No differences were observed in age of onset, type of medication, and non-motor symptoms between both groups. Female reproductive factors including number of children, age at menarche, and age at menopause were positively associated with a delay of disease onset up to 30 months. The disease-modifying role of estrogen-related outcome measures warrants further clinical and experimental studies targeting gender differences, specifically hormone-dependent pathways in PD.
The definition of “pedagogy” in reality today Sradzhev, Viktor P.; Borozdina, Olga O.
Research Result. Pedagogy and Psychology of Education,
06/2024, Letnik:
10, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Introduction. Among many definitions, the most recognized is the definition according to which pedagogy is the science of human upbringing. This position often conflicts with practice. If pedagogy is ...a science, then many aspects of pedagogical activity go beyond its scope. Hence the purpose of the article: to search for the content of the term “pedagogy”, reflecting the objective nature of this phenomenon. The methodological basis of the article is a systematic approach, and its research method is the ascent from the abstract to the concrete. Results. As you know, one of the signs of science is the presence of a field of study. In pedagogical science, it is the study of processes associated with learning, education and human development. However, it is natural to assume that pedagogy is inextricably linked with teaching practice. The object of its activity is the implementation of the functions of training, education and development of pupils and students. Therefore, if we understand pedagogy not as a science, but as a way of doing things, we resolve the main contradiction: the transfer of the properties of a part of an object to the entire object, and the term “pedagogy” unites its scientific and practical sides into a single system. But to determine its essence, it is necessary to indicate one more systemic quality, designated as socialization. Therefore, pedagogy is presented as a field of educational activities aimed at the socialization of the individual. This formulation will make it possible to solve emerging educational and pedagogical problems from a systemic perspective, to involve science in solving the most pressing issues of training and education of youth, organizing the educational process, and determining socially relevant educational goals. Conclusion. But assuming that pedagogy is not a science, one cannot ignore the fact that scientific research is an integral part of it. This area of pedagogy can be called the theory of pedagogy.
Mobile, sensor-based gait analysis in Parkinson’s disease (PD) facilitates the objective measurement of gait parameters in cross-sectional studies. Besides becoming outcome measures for clinical ...studies, the application of gait parameters in personalized clinical decision support is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether the individual response of PD patients to dopaminergic treatment may be measured by sensor-based gait analysis. 13 PD patients received apomorphine every 15 min to incrementally increase the bioavailable apomorphine dose. Motor performance (UPDRS III) was assessed 10 min after each apomorphine injection. Gait parameters were obtained after each UPDRS III rating from a 2 × 10 m gait sequence, providing 41.2 ± 9.2 strides per patient and injection. Gait parameters and UPDRS III ratings were compared cross-sectionally after apomorphine titration, and more importantly between consecutive injections for each patient individually. For the individual response, the effect size Cohen’s d for gait parameter changes was calculated based on the stride variations of each gait sequence after each injection. Cross-sectionally, apomorphine improved stride speed, length, gait velocity, maximum toe clearance, and toe off angle. Between injections, the effect size for individual changes in stride speed, length, and maximum toe clearance correlated to the motor improvement in each patient. In addition, significant changes of stride length between injections were significantly associated with UPDRS III improvements. We therefore show, that sensor-based gait analysis provides objective gait parameters that support clinical assessment of individual PD patients during dopaminergic treatment. We propose clinically relevant instrumented gait parameters for treatment studies and especially clinical care.
In the contemporary world pharmaceuticals have become a go-to answer to a growing number of questions. This process of pharmaceuticalization gives rise to a concern with the increasing influence of ...the pharmaceutical industry on physicians’ decision-making. Critics suggest that companies’ for-profit-interests might compromise the integrity of medical practice. This article employs qualitative research methodology to explore how Russian physicians deal with the industry’s efforts to expand and shape the use of pharmaceuticals. By bridging perspectives of social studies of science and sociology of professions, we offer a contextualized account of physicians’ daily practices and interpretations related to pharmaceuticalization. The findings question conventional assumptions of physician-industry relations and allow to delineate a new form of medical professionalism that emerges in the context of pharmaceuticalization and cannot be reduced to either “resisting” industry marketing activities or “giving in” to them and thus corrupting biomedical expertise. Instead, the ways in which physicians navigate abundant sources of knowledge and use industry resources to overcome constraints of their organizational environment attest to mundane forms of agency exercised by physicians in their relations with industry.
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